Gone and never coming back
by Lissa Dragomir101
Summary: Rose's parents are killed by the leader of a gang, leaving Rose alone and being protected by another gang that her parents belong to. All she has to do is survive a few months until the trial, but can she live that long? Full summary inside. ALL HUMAN!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary-**

_**After evidence is found linking a notorious gang- the Strigoi- to a series of killings, the leader of the Strigoi is bent of destroying all evidence. By killing the only people who can identify the Strigoi- Abe Mazur and his wife Janine Hathaway leaders of an opposing gang, the Moroi- their identities are safe. However what the Strigoi don't know is that they left behind the daughter to the couple, Rose Hathaway- Mazur, and she witnessed the whole murder and who the killers were. The rest of the Moroi are bent on protecting Rose from a fate worse than death if the Strigoi get a hold of her. By doing so they put a young agent on Rose to protect her at all times- Dimitri Belikov- who will be acting as her brother for the sake of Roses protection. However, does Rose have feelings towards her new protector? And when there is said to be a spy inside the Moroi gang who is it? Rose has to move countries and change her name for survival; all she has to do is survive a few months until the trial. But, can Rose live that long without the Strigoi finding her? And, by moving, has Rose endangered all her new friends too? Rose is the key to taking down the Strigoi, but if the Strigoi get to her before the trial then all efforts to take down the gang will be wasted. All human.**_

_**Please read and tell me what you think: whether I should continue or not. =) **_

**STORY-**

Abe Mazur walked up to the small group of people and waited for silence throughout the room. He held his head high and glanced at each and every one of his colleagues. He nodded his head politely as he met some of their eyes.

"We've finally got it!" he said to the small group triumphantly. "We have enough evidence to take down not only the leader of the Strigoi but also most of its gang members!" the small group of people cheered happily. "As you know, myself and my wife have been following the leader of the gang, Nathan, for a while now. And it was proved worthwhile. Last night, Nathan went to an old factory on the marina. There he spoke to at least twenty of his co-workers. We have footage at my home displaying the identities of those who attended this meeting!"

Everyone in the small room had broad smiles on their faces. They had been waiting for years to take down the notorious gang who were ruthless killers and were wreaking havoc in the small town. The Moroi gang did the jobs that the police were either unprepared to do or didn't know that it needed to be done. This was their one and only chance to take down the Strigoi.

A middle aged woman stepped forward with light brown hair and green eyes that were gleaming with victory. "Sir, is it safe for you to keep the evidence in your house?" she asked hesitantly. The last thing she wanted to do was annoy her boss, however she felt the need to remind him to be cautious. What, with a 16 year old teenager in his house as well.

"Alberta, once again your kindness towards my family astounds me." He smiled at her showing that he wasn't bothered by the comment and continued, "The evidence is well hidden. But, if your comment was more directed towards my daughter's safety then I will assure you, should something go wrong, she will be well protected. If me and my wife are killed, don't cancel the trial, the trial will continue as normal but with my daughter in place of us."

He spoke so calmly of his and his wife's safety that it shocked Alberta. However she continued to ask questions. "How do you intend on ensuring that the evidence won't be found? Even after your death? Should you be killed"

"Don't worry; everything will be taken care of, I assure you, Alberta." With that he dismissed the small group of people. He knew full well that something could indeed happen to him and his wife. He could only hope that his daughter would be spared. He pulled Alberta aside before she left the room. "Alberta, can you do me a favour?" he asked, she nodded her head, so, he continued, "If something does happen to my wife and myself, protect my daughter for me? She will be given your number and I ask you to protect her by getting her out of this city and somewhere safe."

"Sir, what makes you so sure that something will happen to you and your wife?" she questioned curiously.

"I have been given word of a possible spy. Do you have the names of all the people who attended this meeting?" Alberta nodded her head, "Good, because I have asked each and everyone one of them not to tell a soul about what I just told them and I said that if they did tell someone about this they would be killed without a second thought. But, what they don't know is that this is also a test. Should the Strigoi find out about this evidence then you and I both know that it was someone in this room who told them. It's a way of narrowing down our suspects. And, if the Strigoi don't attack before the trial I will think up some fake evidence afterwards and tell different people about it." Abe trusted Alberta more than anyone else- apart from his wife- he had known her for years. She had gained his trust, that's why he trusted her with this classified information. She was the only one he could trust with his daughter's life if something went wrong.

"Sir, I'm not sure I like the thought of you gambling your family's lives on this." Alberta said quietly.

"I've talked this through with my wife; she was hesitant at first but knew it was the only way to find out who the spy is. But, just one more favour, please, if my wife and I are killed, tell my daughter that we love her. And explain to her the situation. She'll know how to find the evidence. I believe in her."

Alberta nodded her head curtly and left Abe to his thoughts.

Abe hung his head, knowing that this could be very dangerous. But, he had to do what he had to do. And he trusted that Alberta would keep his daughter safe.

_Two days later..._

"Happy Birthday!" my parents yelled as they burst into my room, effectively waking me up. I groaned and covered my face with my pillow. But the smell of pancakes wafted into my room

"Can I smell what I think I can smell?" I asked sitting up facing my parents. They each had wide smiles on their faces.

My mum's a work-a-holic, she hardly ever comes home. But, apparently my 16th Birthday was a big enough event. I'm not sure whether I liked that. She worked as a bodyguard to some rich politician, but he had so many guards that mum coming home and living a little wouldn't really make a difference, however she remained loyal to him. My mum's short, shorter than me and that's saying something. She had brown hair that hung loosely at her shoulders. My dad, who had his hand in hers, was taller than both of us. He's also a working kind of man, but his job remains a mystery to me. My parents always told me that I would find out when the time was right. I was 16 and I was still not old enough to know!

"That depends on what you think you can smell." Dad replied, "If you think you can smell your mother's BO I'd say, definitely, yes." Dad continued despite mum playfully hitting him. "However, if you can smell pancakes, I'd say go look for yourself."

I did just that, I threw off my covers and quickly walked up to my cupboard and got out my favourite short shorts and a simple top. I walked past my parents and out my cream coloured door into the bathroom that was situated at the far back of the hall. I quickly changed and walked down the narrow steps and straight into the dining room where in the middle of the table sat a pile of- at least- 20 perfectly cooked pancakes stacked on top of one another. Next to the plate were bottles of jam, maple syrup, golden syrup, and honey. I took my usual seat at the head of the table and didn't bother to wait for my parents. I dug in.

It took me 10 minutes to eat 5 pancakes that were drowned in maple syrup. By then I was full. My parents were left to devour the rest of the pancakes. I just sat there patiently and talked to them about school and other boring stuff like that.

"Alright, I think it's time," Mum said standing up, she reached into her back pocket and retrieved a small, black box. She handed it to me and I opened it.

Inside was a beautiful silver locket incrusted with gold on the front which was surrounding my name which was engraved in curly writing; Rose. I smiled to myself as I opened the locket- it opened downwards- to find there was no picture. However I soon realised that I had to fold out the small silver bit and it revealed a picture of my dad smiling and another picture of the three of us. I unfolded another silver bit to which was attached to the bottom half of the locket it revealed two other pictures one. The one on the bottom was a picture of me and the one attached to it was a picture of my mother. It was such a beautiful locket that it brought tears to my eyes.

"Thank you so much!" I gushed; I hugged each of my parents in turn. I put it around my neck and the cool jewellery felt nice against my warm skin, it felt like it belonged there or something.

However, before my parents could reply, I heard the sound of a car door slamming just outside our house. "We're not expecting anyone, are we?" my mum asked carefully.

Dad shook his head and walked over to the window to get a look outside. "Janine," was all he said, however mum seemed to understand. She grabbed my wrist started pulling me up the stairs.

"No, there's no time. Hide her down here." Dad said hurriedly.

Hide? What the hell? "Mum, what's going on?" I whispered; I knew something serious was happening but I just didn't know what, or why.

"Sweetheart, there's something we haven't told you." Mum replied while dragging me into the study and shoving me under the desk. Mum grabbed a small piece of paper out of her pocket and put it into my hand. "When it's safe, call this number. Tell the person who answers that the Strigoi have come. And tell her what happened. Alberta will know what to do." Mum turned to leave but I grabbed her wrist.

"Mum, how will I know when it's safe?" I whispered, my voice sounded frightened. Just like I was.

"You'll know," was her reply but she added, "We both love you," quietly. I returned the words to her and then she wrenched her wrist out of my grip. She quietly closed the study door, and I decided to crawl out from under the desk and try to see what was going on. I lay down on the ground and peeked under the door. I could see my parents waiting anxiously before the front entrance, hand in hand.

I was alone, not knowing what to expect. I sat listening to every little sound that came from the house. I heard a loud bang followed by another, as the door was knocked off its hinges. I suppressed the urge to scream, barely. I covered my mouth with my hand.

A man stepped through the door wearing all black. He had on black sunglasses and his facial features were very angular and well proportioned. He was very scary looking and was at least 6 foot tall. He had shoulder length blonde hair that hung over the side of his face. He towered over my father angrily.

"Nathan, be careful with the house!" my father said hastily.

The man replied, "You won't have much need of it where you're going." It sounded...strange. Tense and anxious, but also excited?

"Please," my father had resorted to begging. "You can kill me, but please, spare my wife!"

_KILL? _Tears swelled in my eyes, and poured down my cheeks. The man who was still standing in the door way produced a gun. I held onto my locket as a sign of hope, wishing that nothing would happen to them. They couldn't die! They were supposed to be there when I graduated and when I got married and if I had kids! I needed them to tell me that everything would be okay, I needed them to hug me, I needed them! But, I knew by the way that they held each other's hands that this man was the real deal. That he would kill my parents; he wasn't just trying to scare them.

I clenched my eyes shut, not wanting to see the scene unfold. I jumped as a gunshot echoed through the silent house. My mother screamed and I heard her crying, then another shot sounded. All was silent for a moment, until I heard footsteps retreating out of the house.

I willed my body to move, to go and help my parents, but my body had shut down. All I was capable of doing was lying there crying. All I could do was remember all the times I had said mean things to my parents or had annoyed, offended or hurt them. My mind focused on all the bad things I had done, and now all I wanted to do was go back in time and relive those moments, but better. Make sure I never hurt them, make sure they knew that I didn't take them for granted, and make sure they knew that I loved them. But, no matter how much I wanted to go back in time, there was no way. They were gone...forever. I knew that there was nothing I could do, I knew that both my parents had been murdered, but, by whom I had no idea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, here's chapter 2. Thank you so much to iloveChristianozera, BiancaVA, Jillian Mastrano 101 and Caitlin! Thanks for your review! Reviews really do help me keep writing! And if you have any suggestions please let me know! Thanks guys! Please read and review! **

Chapter 2-

I eventually had the courage to get up and face the scene that lay just behind the study door. I carefully stood, and opened the door. The house was so silent I could hear each of my ragged breaths. I stepped slowly closer to the two bodies on the ground.

Both their eyes remained opened, but bloodshot. It took everything I had not to throw up, or to fall to the ground crying. I had things that I needed to do. I reached my hand out and touched both of their pulse locations. I had to see for myself. And I was right; they were both dead. More tears poured down my cheeks. I flattened out the piece of paper my mum had given me and grabbed the phone with shaky fingers.

On the third ring the phone was answered.

"Hello?" I harsh female voice asked.

What was I supposed to say? "Hi," I said quietly. I sounded younger than I was.

"Who is this?" the women replied a little softer.

"My name is Rose Hathaway-Mazur." I said, not knowing whether this would help her. I decided to add my parent's names; they seemed to know each other. "My parents are Abe Mazur and Janine Hathaway."

"Oh, yes. Um, how did you get this number?" she asked, all harshness in her voice gone.

"Um," I hesitated, _how much should I tell this woman? _"My mum gave it to me; she said that you could help. She told me to tell you that something called the Strig- something attacked. My parents...they were...s-shot." my voice broke. And before I could stop myself I was sobbing.

"Oh, my!" The women said anxiously. "I'll come over right away, Rose."

"Wait, wait. How do you know where I live?" I questioned.

"Oh, Rose" she sighed, "We know a lot of things about you."

_Because that's not weird._

I hung up the phone wondering who this woman was, how she knew my parents, and most of all how she could help. I put the phone down on the desk quietly. Although I knew the man had left, I didn't want to make a sound just in case he came back. That thought freaked me out even more. Great. I decided to hide up in my room, just in case the man returned.

Soon, I could hear footsteps down stairs and I curled up into a ball under my bed. Although it was an obvious place to hide, it was all I had.

It didn't take long for my door to open. Big, booted feet appeared at the edge of my bed. They stopped there and the owner of the feet seemed to be looking around.

"Rosemarie?" A strongly accented, deep voice called.

I shrunk back and quietly moved until I felt the wall against my back, but I was still under my bed which was up against the wall.

"Rosemarie?" he repeated.

How did he now know my name?

The person knelt down and I saw long black pants. He looked under my bed and right at me. He looked to be early to mid twenties and had deep, brown eyes that looked right into mine.

"Please," I whispered softly, "don't hurt me."

"Hurt you? I'm here to help you." He said calmly, "You're Rosemarie?" I wasn't sure whether I should answer or not so I didn't; I didn't do anything, just stayed quiet. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." He answered for me. "You called us for help." He stated softly, he held out his hand for me to take.

I shook my head, more tears running down my cheeks.

The man sighed loudly and left me alone. I wiped the tears off of my cheeks.

Around 5 minutes later I hear voices arguing.

"I don't know why she won't come out." The same accented voice said loudly.

"Did it ever occur to you that her parents might have been killed by a _man_? I said to all of you that if you find her you get me. Now, where is she?" A new, female voice asked. She sounded nice and caring.

"First room to the right once you get upstairs. She's hiding under the bed." He replied quieter, however I could still hear him.

Footsteps sounded up the stairs. And soon a woman was kneeling in the same position as the man before. She looked strong and definitely older than the man who had previously come. She had warm green eyes and light brown hair.

"Hi," she said softly and politely, "my name is Alberta, we spoke on the phone."

"Proof," I whispered shakily, "I want some proof."

She nodded her head and reached into her back pocket. I immediately winced but she only took out a small, black wallet. She opened it to show me her driver's licence, Alberta Petrov. That's all I had time to see before she shut the wallet so quickly it made me think she was hiding something.

Her same hand extended out to me as a kind gesture.

I hesitated, I didn't trust her, but my parents seemed to, so I took her hand carefully. She helped me get out from under the bed and to my shaky feet. Alberta wrapped a hand around my waist and led me towards the stairs.

But, just as we got to the top of the stairs I stopped moving.

Alberta looked at me with a confused expression. "Come on, you've gotten this far." She encouraged.

I just shook my head staring worriedly over the banister where all I could see was the top of the front door but I knew what lay a little further down.

"They're not there; they've been moved to the morgue."

I still didn't want to go back downstairs. It held so many memories of my parents. But, now, it was the place where they were murdered.

Alberta caught on quickly, "You'll be fine. You can close your eyes if you want. I won't let you trip."

I wasn't sure whether closing my eyes would help because my mind still knew where I was. But there's no harm in trying. I shut my eyes and let Alberta lead me down the stairs and out the front door.

Once the fresh air hit my lungs it made me feel better. I didn't feel so...restricted. I opened my eyes to see 3 SUV's parked in my driveway. Alberta certainly had connections.

She led me towards the closest one and opened the backseat door to reveal the Russian guy on the far side of the backseat. I didn't want to get into the car but I didn't have much of a choice. I climbed in trying to keep as much distance between me and him.

"Wait, what about a change of clothes?" I asked as Alberta climbed into the car.

"Oh, we can buy you some more later. Now we just need to focus on getting you out of here." Alberta replied.

I frowned I didn't know whether or not to trust her; I guess it would take me a while to trust people again. I didn't even trust these people who had saved me. If I couldn't trust them then, who could I trust? I had no one in this world who would protect me; no family, no friends...I had no one.

As the car drove away I looked out of the window wondering if I would ever see my house again. Of course there was every chance I wouldn't. A single tear ran down my cheek as I silently said goodbye to the house that I had lived in for my entire life. The house that held all my memories. But, not just _my_ memories, memories that held my parents. My best memories had all happened either in that house or with my parents.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, here's chapter 3! I hope you guys like it! Please review and tell me what you think! I really appreciate all the reviews! There were 9 reviews for chapter 2! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!**

Chapter 3-

So, as I said goodbye to my house, I also- in a way- was saying goodbye to my parents. And I wasn't ready to do that.

The car ride was long. Way too long...and silent. No one said a word. I just kept as far away from the Russian guy as I could and stayed silent. We stopped occasionally for petrol and toilet stops but other than that it was a continuous drive out...wherever we were. I didn't know where we were but I did know that I was no longer in my small town anymore. I didn't like the unfamiliar ground. Although it was beautiful, it wasn't _home._

I had stopped crying a little while ago, but I was still upset beyond belief. I felt like I was on the brink of depression.

I tried to hide my feelings, but I didn't think it was working. The Russian man kept looking at me carefully. He didn't say anything but just watched. He looked at me as if I was a fragile doll, or as if I was going to disappear any second. As soon as I would turn my head to look at him he would quickly glance away, so I only ever saw him look at me with the corner of my eye, but still.

The silence was broken as a phone began to ring. Alberta reached into her pocket, while still driving and answered it.

"Hello?" she paused; waiting for a reply. "Oh, yes, I wanted to talk to you because I want to know exactly why there weren't peopled guarding the Mazur's home!" Alberta said her voice rising as she continued the sentence. "Well, you thought wrong! They were killed!" That made me flinch, "Well, let me tell you, as soon as I get back you're going to be in a lot of trouble!" Alberta slammed her phone shut and once again we were sitting in silence.

The car came to a stop eventually. We were in a small town with hardly any buildings in it. We'd stopped outside a small, house-like building. All the windows were shaded so no one on the road could see in. I didn't want to get out of the car, which was weird considering that before I didn't want to get _in._

Alberta and the Russian guy both got out. The guy headed straight for the front door, Alberta went to my door and opened it. She nodded her head towards the building indicating that I should go in.

I shook my head.

"Come on, don't be difficult; I'm not in the mood for it." Alberta sighed loudly.

She was no longer the nice lady, now- since that phone call- she was in a hurry and easily got annoyed. But, I still shook my head.

Alberta sighed again, "Dimitri, come back here."

The Russian guy- Dimitri- automatically stopped. He turned around and headed back towards us. He had almost reached the building's front door.

He reached us quickly and stopped next to Alberta.

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Take your pick." Alberta threatened. It was hard to believe that this once kind lady could muster up so much anger. She seemed really pissed off.

"I-I don't w-want...to g-go in." I stuttered. I was scared out of my mind.

"Rosemarie, no one here is going to hurt you." Dimitri intervened. I looked at him, and saw how scary he looked. Now that he was standing I noticed that he was at least 6 foot. He had a very muscular build and it scared me.

But, my stubborn nature took over and I continued to shake my head.

Alberta glanced at Dimitri and gave him a curt nod.

He leaned into the car and undid my seatbelt. Before I could do anything to stop it he swung me over his left shoulder, very quickly and easily.

I screamed loudly. Anyone who witnessed this event would think I had been kidnapped rather than willingly gone with them. That's when I realised that I didn't know anything about these people. Yes, my mum said that 'Alberta' would help and gave me her number, but how do I know she could be trusted or this Dimitri guy?

I screamed again and thrashed around as hard as I could. But, it didn't faze Dimitri in the slightest. He carried me away from the car with Alberta following behind.

I started to cry, wondering if I had just fallen for a trap, wondering if I had just willingly followed my parents' murderers to their house. Was this where they killed me? Flashbacks of my parents' death formed in my head. That scared me further.

"Please!" I begged my tears soaking the Dimitri's t-shirt. I wanted my parents; I wanted to be anywhere but here.

"We're almost there, just calm down. I won't hurt you." Dimitri said softly trying to calm me down. I didn't want to calm down or do anything he wanted me to.

"Put me down!" I said angrily, knowing that he wouldn't listen.

We stopped moving for a while and then the ground changed; going from pavement to white tiles.

"NO!" I yelled as loudly as I could. I thrashed around again. I didn't want to go inside. But, once again, it didn't faze Dimitri. This man was invincible. But I refused to give up that easily. As soon as I was put down I would run as fast and far as I could.

We were turning around corners and passing people. I could see their legs and ankles.

"Where do you want her?" Dimitri asked, his voice holding a tone of annoyance.

"Put her in room 2 for now." Alberta replied, "She's going to be a little trouble until we explain. I'll get Kirova and all you have to do is make sure she stays put."

"She's 15. How much trouble could she be?" Dimitri asked dismissively.

I hated that they were talking about me like I wasn't there. "Hello! I'm right here! And in pain!" I said referring to the fact that Dimitri's shoulder was painfully digging into my stomach.

Then, just to annoy me, he decided to readjust my positioning gently lifting me up and painfully putting me back on his shoulder so it dug into my stomach even more. I shrieked out in pain, pretty soon I was going to lose my voice. This guy was really starting to annoy me.

We turned around some more corners without Alberta. He stopped suddenly and flung me off of his shoulder and onto a bad.

My mind immediately thought the worst; I scrambled over to the far side of the bed.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Dimitri groaned. He kept repeating that but he _had_ hurt me.

I lifted my hands to my stomach and immediately flinched. There was definitely a bruised there.

Dimitri had been watching me and he carefully made his way forwards. He was walking slowly with no sudden movements so as to not scare me. He sat down just in front of me.

I wanted to move away, but there was no where I could go. I was trapped with Dimitri right in front of me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He said so sincerely that I almost believed him. _Almost_. "I have a bit of a temper sometimes." Why was he telling me this? To scare me? Well, it wasn't going to work...hopefully.

I just tried to look as innocent as possible. But now was my chance to escape. I clenched my hand into a fist and quickly swung it straight forward and aimed it at his gut. I put all of the anger and pain that I had experienced behind it. Which was a LOT. He groaned and leaned forward on the bed.

As he was distracted I leapt from the bed and ran from the room.

I couldn't remember where we had gone or what corners we had turned at since coming here, so I just ran past random rooms and hallways trying to find an exit.

I didn't hear any footsteps behind me, so I screamed when I felt arms wrap around my waist and start pulling me backwards. The arms were wrapped around the bruised spot on my stomach, so I was in a lot of pain. My feet weren't touching the ground and the owner of the muscular arms- most likely Dimitri's- were secured tightly on my abdomen.

I was pulled back into the room and sat back on the bed. My hands immediately went to my now extremely sore middle.

Dimitri walked over to the bedside table pulling out a bit of rope. I took my second chance to escape. But I didn't even make it to the door before Dimitri caught me, once again placing me on the bed. But this time he sat me down up the top of the bed on the pillows. He grabbed my left wrist and tied the rope around it and tied the other end to the left bed post.

I once again screamed and cried, not wanting this restriction on my movement. I couldn't leave the bed.

"I didn't want to tie you up, but if you're going to try to escape all the time, I may as well save myself the trouble of running to catch you." Dimitri said calmly, he wasn't even puffing!

"I won't try! Please!" I was desperate. Although he kept saying that he wasn't going to hurt me, being tied up suggested bad things. "You said you wouldn't hurt me." I stated, my voice shaking. This was the most I had talked since the incident with my parents.

"And I won't." Dimitri countered, raising one eye brow.

I frowned to myself, "You already have."

Dimitri looked down, he seemed...ashamed? I don't know, but he wasn't happy. "Where did you learn to punch like that?" he asked completely out of the blue.

What, he now wanted civilised? No way. It took everything I had not to swear in his face. But, if I annoy him, I get tied up. I really hated him.

I refused to answer, I felt like a little, stubborn kid. And it seemed to annoy him. So, we sat in silence.

Dimitri's phone buzzed. He picked it out of his pocket and answered in a different language, Russian. He sounded agitated and frustrated. That gave me a sense of pride, knowing that he was annoyed thanks to me.

He slammed his phone shut. "Kirova is busy, so I've been asked to fill you in." He said, "And Alberta doesn't want to, she was really close to your parents and wanted to be alone. So, that leaves me."

_Great, more time I get to spend with him._ Note the sarcasm.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, here's chapter 4! I know that it's the shortest chapter so far, but I wanted to end it the way I did. I'm writing the next chapter now, so it won't take long to update! Please review! I love reading what people think about my story!**

Chapter 4-

Dimitri sighed loudly which made me think that he didn't want to be there as much as me. "Where do I begin?" he mused, "Okay, do you watch the news?" I shrugged even though he wasn't looking at me. "If you do, then I'm sure you heard about the series of killings going on." He looked up at me and I nodded, "All of those killings are related to a gang known as Strigoi. All of those killings have benefitted them in one way or another; protecting their identities or getting them more money."

"S-so my p-parents were v-v-victims of this g-gang?" I asked, my voice shaking tremendously.

"Yes," Dimitri said solemnly, "but there's another part to this. Us." He paused letting that sink in. "We protect people from them..."

Before he could finish, I cut him off. "Then how come t-this h-happened to my p-parents?" I stuttered.

"I'm getting to that." Dimitri snapped, "You're father was our leader," I didn't like that he was already using past tense when he spoke about my parents. "He and your mum had been following some of the Strigoi members. Trying to take pictures of them doing what the usually do. Two days ago they photographed 20 members of the gang. Your parents were the only ones who knew the location of the evidence. This evidence was to be presented at court which would lead to the end of the Strigoi. That's why the Strigoi killed your parents. They were protecting themselves."

"M-my mum wasn't i-involved with all of t-this! She was a b-body guard for some p-politician!" I stated angrily.

"Did your mum ever tell you the name of the Politian?" Dimitri asked raising an eyebrow.

I wanted so badly to say _yes. _But thinking about it, had she? I thought she had. I felt a pang of guilt surge through me as I thought about this. I hadn't shown interest in her job, I hadn't asked, I hadn't even thought about it.

"Did your mum ever talk about her work?"

_No_, I answered in my head. Did I even ask about her work?

Dimitri wasn't letting me down easy, he was stating the facts, letting me feel guilty, and he wasn't sugar coating the truth.

"Your parents told Alberta that if something were to happen to them, we were to protect you. And that the trial will continue as normal."

"P-protect me from w-what?" I asked not sure whether I wanted that answered.

"Rosemarie, you weren't killed because your existence was kept a secret to the Strigoi. Therefore they don't know about you...yet. But, word will get around and pretty soon the Strigoi will be out to kill you too."

I shuddered, _Perfect, just perfect._

"At the trial in a few months time, you'll take your parents place."

"W-what about the e-evidence?"

"They told Alberta that when the time comes, you'd know where to find it." Dimitri said simply.

"W-what happens to m-me if they do f-find me?" I inquired.

"They won't find you. And- on the odd chance they do- nothing will happen, we'll protect you. You're what? Fifteen? We're not going to let anything happen to a kid." Dimitri stated, gravely.

"Sixteen," I stated automatically before I could stop myself.

"What? I read your file..." Dimitri trailed. He'd read my file? These people had a file on me? Why on earth would they have a file on me?

"M-my birthday was t-today." I clarified, sighing. It didn't feel like my birthday. It didn't feel like a time for celebration. And the fact that something so upsetting happened on my birthday, ensured that I would never celebrate my birthday again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Dimitri said gloomily.

I lifted my right arm up to my neck to hold my necklace. But, it wasn't there.

My heart dropped, that was the only thing I had left of my parents. It was a sign of hope...and it was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, sorry that it's been a while. I was trying to make this chapter longer than the last one. I hope you enjoy! Please review letting me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer- (I keep forgetting this) But I don't own Vampire Academy**

Tears swelled in my eyes at the thought of never finding my locket. There was always a possibility that I hadn't lost it here, and that it was hours away, back home.

Before I could stop myself I was sobbing, my shoulders shaking violently.

"What's wrong?" Dimitri asked frantically, "We're not going to let anything happen to you, you have to believe that."

I shook my head, "its n-not t-that! M-my l-locket that my p-parents gave me...I-I've lost it!" I said through my sobs.

Dimitri looked confused.

"I-it's the only thing I h-have left o-of my parents. They g-gave it to m-me today. I-I have to f-find it!" I struggled as hard as I could against the rope that was binding me to the bed post.

"Roza, I'll find it." He turned to leave, and I was forced to watch. I wanted so badly to follow him and look for it myself, but the rope wasn't going to budge. I tried undoing the knots with my right hand but it was impossible. He was really good at tying knots.

However, despite Dimitri being gone and there being next to no chance that these knots would loosen, I had to try. It was my necklace. I needed it!

Alberta was lying on her bed, tears streaming down her face. She'd known that what Abe had planned had been a bad idea. Now both he and his wife were dead and they had left a 15 or 16 year old girl alone in the world, with no one. Alberta had promised Abe that she would protect his daughter, but that was going to be a hard task. When the Strigoi wanted something, they got it. And in this case, they _really_ wanted Rosemarie Hathaway, or they would once they found out about her. But, due to the deaths of her leader, it also meant that a traitor was in their midst.

Alberta opened her filing cabinet and pulled out a small white piece of paper that held the names of the members who had attended the meeting. She scanned the list, all of them Alberta had known for years and trusted. Now, though, she would have to be extra careful with who to trust. She had to put Rosemarie into safe hands. But who? It also needed to be someone Rose trusted. Well, that narrowed it down, considering that Rose trusted none of them.

Alberta sighed, she wished that she could protect Rosemarie herself, but that wasn't possible. Alberta was needed to train the new members.

She left her room glumly, walking out into the almost empty halls. Dimitri Belikov could be seen on the ground, searching for something. He was on all fours shuffling around on the floor.

"Belikov? What's going on here? Where's Rosemarie?" Alberta questioned him quickly wiping away her remaining tears.

"She's in her room, she lost a necklace that has significant value to her, and so I'm looking for it." Dimitri replied casually.

"Why, on Earth, did you leave her alone?" Alberta asked disbelievingly, "I asked you to make sure she doesn't leave!"

"Calm down, I tied her wrist to the bed post. She's not going anywhere." Dimitri said, not even looking up at Alberta.

Alberta gaped at him, this wasn't what they needed! They needed Rose to trust them. And she wouldn't if she was constantly tied up.

Alberta decided to voice her concern. "Belikov, she needs to trust us."

Dimitri finally lifted his gaze off of the ground to look at Alberta. "She kept trying to run." He sighed, "You asked me to keep her from running. So, I did." He returned his gaze to the floor as his hand came into contact with a cold chain. "Ah, found it!" he exclaimed happily. He started walking back to the room where Rose was being kept, with Alberta in tow behind him.

As they both entered the room, Rose looked up. She had tear streaks down her cheeks, and her wrist, that was tied to the bed, was bleeding slightly from her struggles. Dimitri held up the necklace a smile playing on his lips. He put it on Rose without hesitation and, upon seeing the blood, untied her from the bed.

"I'm sorry for tying you up, but I had to make you listen somehow." He stated.

What Rose did next was completely unexpected. She flung her arms around Dimitri's neck in a hug, thanking him profusely. Dimitri looked taken aback at first before hugging her back awkwardly.

Alberta looked at the two and knew exactly what she had to do next. She knew that Rose trusted Dimitri, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than anyone else around. Dimitri had to be the one to go undercover with Rose, but convincing them of that would be the hard part.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Here's another update! I hope you like it! I found this chapter particularly hard to write! But, I hope its ok! Please review and say what you think!**

Alberta was looking at me weirdly. I pulled away from Dimitri, not knowing where that hug came from.

Alberta had a small smile playing on her lips as her gaze went from me to Dimitri and back again. Her stare started to make me uncomfortable before I looked away.

"Alright," Alberta spoke calmly, "Rose, we need to hide you. But, we can't actually hide you. So, what we're going to do is send you to a different town with one of our members. You'll keep your first name but your last name will be changed to an alias. You'll go to school like normal and act like a normal teenager, but one of our members will be with you, secretly protecting you until the day of the trial. He'll be pretending to be your brother, but he won't be attending school with you." Alberta sighed, and carefully said her next words. "Rose, your alias will be...Rosemarie Belikov. We'll organise a fake ID and..."

Dimitri tensed beside me and interrupted Alberta. "No way." He said angrily.

I was confused; I had no idea who this Belikov person was.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

Both Alberta and Dimitri ignored me, "Come on, you're the best person for the job." Alberta reasoned.

Wait a minute. Him? Spending most of my time with him? I looked at his face, now contorted with rage. But, he still looked hot; Muscled body, deep brown eyes, brown hair tied in a pony tail. Suddenly, that didn't sound too bad.

"What about...Alto? He'll do it!" Dimitri suggested, still not wanting to agree.

"What? Stan Alto? Are you serious? He hates kids." Alberta replied calmly, she still had a small smile on her face.

"Hello? I'm not a kid!" I interrupted, but I shouldn't have wasted my breath. They were still ignoring me.

"We'll have other people come on the weekends to give you a break if you want it, but this is now your job."

"Has Kirova agreed to this?" Dimitri questioned, he seemed to be looking for an escape. Any sign that he wasn't now stuck with me for a few months. That hurt.

I looked to Alberta, waiting for her reply. She paused for a second. "Well...not in so many words." Alberta replied, her smile faltered.

"You haven't asked her, have you?" Dimitri had a smile in his voice, although I refused to look at him.

"You know as well as I do that I handle the missions and she handles the training academy. Come on, after this, you might just get a promotion, if you do well." She was bribing him. That much was obvious.

Dimitri sighed, apparently the opportunity of a promotion appealed to him.

"I don't need protecting anyway." I said. That got their attention. They both looked at me and stared incredulously.

"You expect to be able to battle trained fighters, despite the fact that both your parents were trained in martial arts and were killed within seconds?" Alberta asked in amazement.

I flinched at her words, but she did have a point. "Well..." I sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Alberta turned her head back to Dimitri, and smiled winningly, "So, it's settled then! I'll go run this by Kirova, but I'm sure she won't mind!"

"Wait!" I said, once again gaining their attention. "Three problems, one, we look nothing alike." I gestured between me and Dimitri, "Two, I'm not Russian. And Three, I don't have a Russian accent."

"We'll work out a cover story, something like you were born in Russia you moved here a few years ago with your parents and Dimitri stayed behind. You picked up an American accent and, after your parents died, Dimitri moved here to look after you. And, not all siblings look alike." Alberta stated.

Alberta left us staring after her.

I shook my head, clearing it and asked, "So, where are we moving to?"

Dimitri didn't even turn his head, just walked out the door, completely ignoring me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! A few of you are wondering why Dimitri was acting kind of mean towards Rose. I can't say, but there is a reason! I promise! And you will find out in a few chapters! So, thank you so much to everyone who is reading this, and of course the people who are reviewing! I really appreciate it! I got 9 reviews for the last chapter thank you so much! **

I was left in the room, alone. Dimitri had locked the door on his way out, so there was no escape.

I sat on the bed with nothing to do and no one to talk to; I had never felt so lonely. All I wanted to do was hug my dad- he always gave the best hugs- and talk to my mum- she was a great listener. But, now, I had been told they were a part of some gang, I felt like I didn't even know them. That scared me the most. The people I had known for the longest time were now the most foreign to me.

I sighed loudly waiting for someone to let me out.

I tapped my foot annoyingly loud on the ground. Waiting, I'd never been the most patient person in the world. Ah, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. Until finally Dimitri came back, carrying a brown paper bag. He tossed it to me without a word.

I looked inside and found a ham sandwich. I smiled to myself glad that he chose that particular sandwich to give me. I gave him a grateful nod.

"Come on, that's for the road." He told me, leading the way out the door. I stood silently and followed him out. He had a familiar looking dark blue duffel bag over his shoulder that I realised was mine. It must have had some of my things in it.

I was glad I would have some familiar things with me when we arrived at this new place and at my new home. But I couldn't help but wonder what would happen once the trial was over. Where would I go? Who would I stay with? That would be right, I'd get used to staying with Dimitri and then as soon as he could, he'd get rid of me and hand me to someone else.

I sighed, louder than I had wanted. This made Dimitri turn around and look at me.

"What?" he asked softly.

I shook my head mutely; he didn't really want to know. We were just about to head outside; we were facing the front door.

"More silent treatment? Alright, fine." Dimitri continued walking and lead me through the front door and out to the same car that we arrived in.

Alberta was sitting in the front driver's seat and I sat in the back without a word, leaving Dimitri with the front passenger seat.

"Rose, we got your clothes from home. I hope you don't mind, but it was too dangerous to let you go back." Alberta told me softly as she started the car.

I didn't really mind. I'd already said my goodbyes and I was sure I wouldn't have been able to say two goodbyes.

"Where are we going?" I whispered softly, not sure whether I would get told.

"I'm driving you to the airport; from there you and Dimitri will fly to New York." Alberta replied without hesitation.

I gaped at her. "New York? A _big _city?" I had never been to New York, heck, I hadn't been out of town before.

"Yes, New York. I figured that the Strigoi would expect us to go to some small unknown town. So, the last place they would guess would be New York." Alberta told me as if it was obvious. Of course there was the possibility that they would suspect a move like that. The truth was that no one could guess where the Strigoi would first look. They could start anywhere and finish anywhere. But, what was the point in staying in America?

I didn't voice that question however, the last thing I wanted was to seem doubtful to a plan that Alberta was obviously proud of.

We fell into an almost awkward silence. I was content with it, and so seemed Dimitri and Alberta. They didn't appear to know what to say. Just like me.

It didn't take long to reach the small airport. I couldn't work out whether that was a good thing or not. But, I pushed it away from my mind as I was told to get out.

But, before Dimitri got out Alberta said to him. "Forget rule number one. Care for your mission. She needs it."

Alberta didn't follow, she just told us good luck and that someone would be waiting for us when we arrived in New York. That someone had to be one of the gang, for sure.

I followed Dimitri because he seemed to know where to go. We checked our bags in- actually my bag he didn't have one- and waited at our waiting lounge. The plane had only just landed so the original passengers were just leaving now.

With nothing to do but wait- again- I sat there staring out at the leaving passengers. As two men walked by, they stared at me. The way they looked at me made me shudder. However, they kept walking but their eyes never left me.

**Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, I know that the last chapter was short! Sorry I just really wanted to update! But this one is longer! Yay! Here it is! Sorry if the descriptions of the house aren't very clear! I struggled with that one! Please review!**

Dimitri was eying the men and suddenly asked me. "Do you need to go to the bathroom before we take off?" He never took his eyes off of the men.

"Nah, I'm good." I replied, not interested in what he was doing.

"I think you need to go."

"Uh, I think I would know." I replied flippantly.

"Rose, go to the bathroom, lock yourself in one of the stalls and don't come out until I tell you it's safe." Dimitri growled at me, he'd lost his cool.

I frowned, but obeyed hesitantly. I walked carefully down the wide hallway until I found the bathroom. Dimitri headed down the other end of the hallway in pursuit of the men, I presumed.

I did what he told me and walked into a cubicle locking it. Who were those men? I sat on the toilet seat- after closing the lid- and rested my elbows against my knee.

My guess would be that those men were Strigoi, but how did they find me? And how did Dimitri tell so quickly who they were? Was it just a coincidence that they were getting off of the plain just when we were about to get on it? Well, it could, too bad I don't believe in coincidences.

I sighed, as I looked down at my left hand. I hadn't even realised that I was still holding the sandwich that Dimitri had given me. Despite my better judgement I ate it. I was too hungry to care about hygiene. The soft bread felt good against my parched lips. I happily bit into the sandwich grateful that it didn't contain any other substance other than butter and ham. The ham was hardly cold anymore but it was still nice. Now all I needed to do was get a drink and I would be reasonably happy, but I would have to wait for the plane.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket I reached for it and pulled it out displaying a number that I didn't recognise.

"Hello?" I whispered quietly, not wanting anyone to hear me.

"Hey, it's Dimitri, you can come out now." The voice one the other side of the line replied. His voice sounded different over the phone. Not as Russian.

"Dimitri? Are you...wait, how'd you get my number?" I questioned.

"That's not important right now. What is is that you come out of that bathroom." Dimitri replied and hung up before I could comment.

Frowning I put the remnants of my sandwich and its wrappers in the bin and walked out.

Dimitri was slumped against the wall outside the women's bathroom waiting.

"Who were those men?" I asked looking up at his tall frame.

"Strigoi," Dimitri answered simply, walking back to our boarding gate. I followed.

"How could you tell?"

Dimitri stopped walking to look down at me. "The first thing you need to know is that all Strigoi wear red eye contacts. They don't _have_ to, but most do."

"Why red?" I asked my voice shaking.

"I don't know for sure but blood is red?" Dimitri offered.

I shuddered involuntarily. "What did you do to them?"

"I disposed of them."

"DIMITRI!" I shouted, "Did you kill them?"

"Keep your voice down!" he hissed but other than that didn't answer.

"Have you killed people before?" I asked my voice barely above a whisper.

"Only Strigoi, and it's part of the job description." Dimitri reasoned.

"So, you killed them? They're people too!"

"Rose, they could have been the ones who killed your parents!" Dimitri replied not answering my question.

"_They_ didn't kill my parents." I hissed, shaking as the memory of the man who did kill them came back.

Dimitri backed me up against a wall, placing both hands on either side of my head with his elbows straight. "Okay, so they didn't kill your parents. But they would have _killed_ people, Rose."

"H-how do you know?" I whispered.

"Because every Strigoi is the same! They're killers! We- the Moroi- protect people from them. We only kill _them_ because they kill people first! A life for a life."

I gaped at him, refusing to show on my face that it did actually make sense. That it did seem kind of fair.

"Flight DJ157, to New York, please line up at your boarding gate to commence boarding." A deep voice said over the intercom.

With that, Dimitri started heading back to our boarding gate with me on his heels.

As we sat in our seats on the plane, I fiddled with my hands that were entwined in my lap. Dimitri- who was sitting on the window seat- had his face turned and was looking out of the window. Outside was dark; the lights of the airport were the only things I could see. The rest was engulfed by darkness.

As the plane took off I realised that I had one question to ask. But, just as I opened my mouth to ask it Dimitri spoke before I could.

"Who did kill you parents?" he asked bluntly.

I gave him a questioningly look to my right as he turned away from the window.

"It's just that you seemed pretty sure that the two men at the airport didn't. So you must have a pretty good idea." Dimitri explained.

"Yeah, I got a look at the guy, and my father said his name was Nathan." I replied, blocking out the memory as best I could.

Dimitri tensed at the name.

"You know him?" I asked voicing my suspicion.

"He's the leader of the Strigoi. I don't like the fact that you got that close to the man that is in charge of the enemy." Dimitri stated.

I nodded my head. Now was my chance to ask my question, "What did Alberta mean when she said, 'Forget rule number one. Care for your mission. She needs it' in the car?"

Dimitri hesitated before answering. "Rule number one in this business is: don't get too attached to the subject of the mission or our target."

So, Alberta had told him to get close to his mission, to forget the rules and care for his mission. Whatever his mission was.

"What is said mission?" I asked simply.

Dimitri sighed, "Do you really have to ask that?" he questioned. He looked down into my eyes and nodded, "I guess so." He paused for a minute before answering. "You are my mission now. Alberta told me to, basically, get to know you."

Now it was my turn to nod.

The rest of the plane flight was uneventful. A bit of turbulence but not much and the landing was smooth. The plane flight took 3 hours and we had now arrived at New York the current time being 10:00pm.

Dimitri followed me off the plane, although I had no idea where I was going once I was off. So, I let Dimitri take the lead after that. He led me to the baggage claim area.

Once I had my bag he led me to a young man who was holding up a small, white sign that had the name 'Belikov' written on it. The young man had red hair that stood up everywhere and had a smattering of freckles across his face. He grinned broadly as he looked to Dimitri. He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen.

"Mason Ashford." Dimitri stated walking up to stand next to the young man. "I should have known she'd send you."

"Yeah, well, I am best for the job." Mason stated, grinning wider. "Especially considering I go to school where she's going." Mason nodded his head towards me.

"Rose, this is Mason Ashford, Mason, Rose. Mason is one of our members and he's going to be protecting you while you're at school. He'll also be filling in for me when I'm out." Dimitri said, glancing down at me.

"_Him?_ He's what, seventeen, eighteen?" I questioned incredulously.

"I'm 18, and don't underestimate my strength and training. I could kick any Strigoi's ass if I wanted to."

"He's the best his age. And we really need someone at your school. Considering he already attends, it was an easy match." Dimitri explained. "He'll be in the year above yours. But, he'll be around you for lunch times and things."

I nodded and smiled up at the two tall figures in front of me. Mason wasn't as tall as Dimitri but he was close.

"Come on, we better go. My car's in a loading zone." Mason said with a sheepish smile.

We followed him out the doors and to his car. I was expecting it to be a black Sudan, however it wasn't. It was a black Toyota Yaris. It looked to be a very expensive car, but I didn't know much about cars.

Dimitri placed my duffel bag in the boot and climbed into the front passenger seat which left me with the back. The car had the sickly new smell, which made me feel sick for the entire car ride to my new house.

We were driving for an hour before we finally stopped outside a large, two storey house. From the street it looked huge. The top level had a long window that was tinted, so people could see out but no one could see in. It seemed to have a lot of space. The main door was a double and had gold handles. To the left of the main door was a double garage with roll up doors.

As we walked inside the tiled house we were greeted with a stair case and to my left was a door that must have led to the garage. To my right was a hallway that had one door leading off of it. I walked to it and found a study and walked to the end of the hallway and found a bathroom.

I could still see Dimitri and Mason standing in the entry way looking at me. I went back to them and followed them through a wooden door way which had no door. That opened up to reveal a large kitchen to my left, a living room to my right that held a large TV and straight ahead a dining room also with a TV.

I walked upstairs followed by Dimitri and was greeted by another fork in the now carpeted path. To my left was a large bedroom supporting a bathroom connected to it, and to my right were two other bedrooms with a bathroom in the middle.

This place was huge! And really, really pretty!

I yawned and stretched my arms over my head.

"Looks like someone's tired." Mason commented coming up the stairs.

I nodded my head. I already liked this Mason person, he was nice, but the fact that I didn't know whether I could trust him stopped me from replying.

"Well, Dimitri, you're clothes are in your room and the pantry has been stocked full of food. So, I'm going home." Mason told Dimitri walking back down the stairs. "Oh, and before I forget. Alberta told me to tell you that tomorrow you should buy a car. And, Rose? School starts in three days." With that Mason left.

"Well, I'm going to bed." I told Dimitri, heading to one of the smaller bedrooms. "'Night."

Dimitri nodded and walked downstairs. I didn't know why because there were no room down there but I didn't really mind.

I dug through my bag and found my PJ's and my tooth brush and tooth paste and walked into the bathroom to prepare for bed.

I awoke from a deep slumber that I didn't want to wake up from. It was comfortable and good. But, I could hear clanking coming from downstairs and decided to head down to see what was for breakfast.

I didn't bother changing. No point, I wasn't doing anything today that I knew of.

I walked downstairs to find Dimitri placing two bowls of cereal on the table. I smiled gratefully at him as I sat down next to him.

"I hope you like Special K. It was all that was there. But, I put a little something extra to give it a different taste." Dimitri told me. I nodded and smiled.

After a few mouthfuls I started to feel...funny. I felt like I couldn't breathe. And that's when it hit me. My breath was becoming shallower and shallower and I was panicking.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, I know that it's has been a long time since I updated! I strongly apologise! But, school has been loading on homework right now and it was only the first week! Anyway, forget my complaining and please read! I really appreciate reviews and feed back! So, please review!**

Dimitri's point of view-

Rose was sweating like crazy when Dimitri glanced up. She was taking shallow breaths in, clearly trying to breath.

"Rose? What's wrong?" Dimitri asked standing up from his seat to crouch down next to her.

"I-I can't breathe." She replied in between gasps for air. Her throat felt like it was constricting, literally getting smaller so that less and less air was given to her lungs.

"Why?" Dimitri asked, stunned. That's when it dawned on him. "Are you allergic to anything?" he asked hurriedly.

She nodded her head slightly, turning pale. "Nuts," she choked out and then focused on breathing while closing her eyes.

Dimitri made a quick dash for the phone calling an ambulance, telling them to hurry.

What the person on the phone had told him to do was try to keep Rose calm but not to make her talk. Panicking wouldn't help the situation and she needed to focus on breathing rather than talking.

Dimitri hurried back to Rose's side, and he saw that her eyes were still shut and she was barely able to sit up straight.

"It's ok, Rose, help's coming. Just focus on breathing." Dimitri said while supporting her wait to keep her upright. He felt a pang of guilt knowing that he was the one to cause her grief. That he was the one who had put the nuts in her cereal in an attempt to make it taste better.

Dimitri calmed down a bit when he heard the sirens. He ran to the door to let the paramedics in.

There were two males, one with chocolate brown hair that was slightly greying and the other with jet black hair. They were pulling along a stretcher and walking quickly towards the house.

"What happened?" the one with greying hair called.

"Rose, she-she's allergic to nuts. She-she can't breathe." Dimitri replied, his voice stuttering.

"Where is she?" the one with black hair asked rushing ahead of the older one.

Dimitri lead them to Rose who was so pale she looked like a ghost. She was hardly breathing and was holding on to the back of the chair in a weak attempt to stay sitting.

The paramedics rushed forward doing their job and Dimitri was forced to watch as they placed an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. Rose looked so scared, and Dimitri felt so helpless.

Rose was loaded onto the stretcher and was wheeled out the front door and into the ambulance. Dimitri climbed into the front passenger seat refusing to be left behind. He winced as the sirens were turned on letting other cars know of the ambulance's hurry.

"What's your relationship with her?" the black haired one asked, he was the one driving with the older one attending to Rose.

"She's my sister." Dimitri lied fluently, not taking his eyes off of the road.

The driver nodded, "Where are your parents?"

"They died," Dimitri replied, trying to sound a little upset over mentioning it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," The driver was at least thirty and he seemed to be a little taken aback as he glanced at Dimitri out of the corner of his eye.

Dimitri shrugged not meeting his gaze. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Well, she's in a pretty bad way. But, we should be able to help her. We got there just in time."

Dimitri nodded his head solemnly. He understood the message in between the lines. Rose had almost died on his watch. He was supposed to be protecting her and she'd already almost died.

Suddenly Dimitri's phone rang. They were already almost at the hospital, but he decided to answer it. "Hello?" He questioned.

A familiar voiced replied, "Where are you? I'm at your house but you're not here." Mason paused for a second and then continued, "Is that a siren?"

"Rose is allergic to the nuts I gave her. She needed an ambulance. We're headed to St Patrick's hospital." Dimitri muttered he still couldn't believe that had happened.

"What? Alright, I'll be there." With that Mason hung up. He'd sounded rushed and panicked.

Dimitri sighed; he was going to hear about this later.

Dimitri was impatiently waiting in the hospital waiting room for any news of Rose. They had only just arrived, so there was little chance of an update at the moment.

Mason hadn't arrived yet, so Dimitri was waiting alone.

He sighed impatiently, constantly glancing at his watch. Seconds ticked by, then minutes without Mason or information.

However, Mason soon arrived looking panicked.

"I would have been here sooner, but I was speeding and the police pulled me over. I have a $200 speeding ticket!" he complained offering Dimitri a sheepish smile. "But, anyway, how's Rose?"

"I don't know, I haven't been told anything yet." Dimitri replied angrily.

Mason sighed and took the seat next to Dimitri slouching slightly.

Both of them waited with people coming and going around them. They sat like statues anxiously awaiting news. Dimitri stared at his hands that were both balled into fists while Mason was watching the surrounding people checking for possible threats. At first every time that the doors leading to the emergency room opened Dimitri and Mason would glance towards it. But, this happened too many times without anything about Rose so they stopped it. So, when Rose's doctor stepped through the door, none of them noticed.

The doctor glanced at the sheet that was on his clipboard and asked, "Rose Belikov's brother?"

Dimitri and Mason glanced up simultaneously and both stood as quickly as possible. They hurried towards the doctor with their faces worried.

"Is she ok?" Dimitri asked.

"Which one of you is her brother?" the doctor asked glancing towards both of the boys.

"I am," Dimitri answered, "But, he's a close friend of the families." Dimitri said pointing to Mason.

The doctor nodded his head and responded, "It was a very close call, but she'll be ok. We want her to stay overnight for observation and in the morning she'll be a little weak, but she'll be alright. She's in room 215 if you want to see her."

Dimitri sighed in relief and his stance relaxed as the doctor walked away. However, Mason turned to face Dimitri an angry look on his face.

"She almost died on your watch!"Mason yelled to Dimitri.

"I didn't know that she was allergic to nuts!"Dimitri replied defensively.

"Did you even ask?" Mason whispered. He was glaring directly at Dimitri.

These words caught Dimitri off guard. Mason was right. Dimitri hadn't taken enough interest in Rose, and hadn't even thought about the possibility of Rose being allergic to food. If he was going to be spending a few months with her, he needed to start caring for her. It was going to be hard considering Rose reminded Dimitri so much of his sister, Viktoria, who had run away from the family to live with some guy, but, he had to try. He wanted Rose to be safe, he wanted to care for Rose like a brother would, and he wanted to be the brother that he hadn't been for Viktoria.

Rose's Point of view-

My eyes fluttered open, but quickly closed again. They were sensitive to the bright light that was placed just above my head. Once my eyes had adjusted to the light I glanced around the unfamiliar room. I couldn't work out where I was until the memories of the nut incident came back into my mind. I remembered everything, the feeling of suffocating, the weight of my head, the paramedics running to my side, and Dimitri's worried expression as I was loaded into the ambulance.

The room was pretty bare; it only had the bed that I was lying on, and a bedside table. The door to the bathroom was open revealing a toilet, a very small shower and a sink. There was another door to the right of the bathroom which led to the hallway.

At first I hadn't noticed Dimitri was sitting on my left beside my hand, but when he moved to look at me I noticed his movement. His eyes filled with relief as they met mine and a small smile played on his lips.

I opened my mouth to talk to him and I noticed that talking was a little harder than usual. I guess my throat was still tender. "What did I ever do to you?" I asked him.

Dimitri's expression changed from relief to confusion at my question. "Pardon?"

"You tried to kill me." I answered, but, instead of saying it seriously I just smiled.

Dimitri looked down and leant forward slightly. "Rose, I'm so sorry." He whispered, "I didn't know that you were allergic to nuts. Not that that's any excuse. I should have asked."

"It wasn't your fault." I replied strongly, I was already regretting my joke. "I should have told you. I just forgot."

"_I'm_ the one taking care of _you!_ I should know better than to feed you something without asking if it was ok." Dimitri said not even listening to my words.

I sighed in defeat. I knew that it wasn't his fault, that it was just an accident. But, it appeared that convincing Dimitri of that would be impossible.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry that it took so long for me to update! I went away last weekend and couldn't update! And then I had to catch up with school, so sorry! Here's another chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!**

"Where's Mason?" I asked, sitting up. I had recently given up on convincing Dimitri that I being in hospital wasn't his fault.

"Last I saw he was going to get something to eat." Dimitri replied looking guiltily at his hands. He hadn't looked me in the eyes yet and that annoyed me. He felt so guilty for something that wasn't his fault.

There was a few more minutes of awkward silence between Dimitri and I, but it was thankfully interrupted by Mason walking into the room. He was carrying two cans of soda- one in each hand- and a packet of chips stuffed under his arm. Without even looking at me he gave one of the sodas to Dimitri and then looked up.

"Oh, you're awake." He said, looking into my eyes. He offered me his soda but I declined.

"So, did you miss me?" I asked him sarcastically. I don't know what made me say something so laid back- it's not like I trusted him or anything- but my personality was winning a battle inside my head.

"Oh, very much." Mason replied plonking down in the seat beside Dimitri. Both of them looked as though they could use a good night's sleep. Each had messed up hair and bags under their eyes from stress. I hated seeing them like this despite hardly knowing them. They looked so...helpless. Dimitri was the worst out of the two. Having seen and having given me the food that caused such a reaction he felt the stress and helplessness more. I could see it in his deep, brown eyes. I could also see a determination, I didn't know what he was determined to do but I could just see it in his eyes.

The silence dragged on forever. It wasn't quite awkward but it wasn't comfortable either. It was somewhere in between. I couldn't work out whether I felt more uncomfortable or not. As I was contemplating this a doctor walked in smiling.

He had black short hair and his brown eyes gleamed happily.

"You're awake." He stated smiling wider.

I nodded my head as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"You got lucky, Rose. You nearly died today." I nodded again; he didn't need to remind me- or Dimitri- of that fact. "We're going to keep you here over night just to be sure, but, you'll be fine." He told me. He checked my charts and left.

I was too worried to look at anyone for fear of seeing sympathy- or guilt in Dimitri's case. I just stared nowhere in particular. I hated hospitals, I frequently visited them but I hated them. They felt so...I don't know. I just couldn't wait for the night to be over.

I sighed and closed my eyes trying to fall asleep, although I knew that if I went to sleep now I would wake up during the night and not be able to go back to sleep.

**Oooooooo**

I was back at my house with my parents lying on the ground in front of me. I kept hearing the gunshot run through my head. I couldn't stop it. The memories of how they died just kept running through my head.

There was a loud bang that shook through the entire hospital.

I sat up immediately, screaming. It was only thunder but it had me shaking. I was terrified. I generally wasn't scared of thunder but, this time, I had tears in my eyes as the thunder continued.

I threw my hands up to my ears trying to block out the sound but it didn't help. There was nothing that I could do that would block out the sound. I looked around the room anxiously and found Mason sitting in the same chair that he had been in the last time I awoke. As my scream sounded around the room he awoke immediately, looking around for any sign of danger.

Upon finding no threat he turned to face me. His eyes were tired. I didn't know where Dimitri was but at that moment I didn't care. I was just happy that someone was here with me.

Our eyes met and Mason sat up straighter his eyes questioning me. As more thunder sounded I jumped and just stopped my scream.

Mason frowned to himself and questioned, "You're afraid of thunder?" His tone was teasing. I must have looked so weak at that moment that he couldn't help but tease me.

Because I didn't answer straight away he asked me, "Why?"

I blinked back more tears trying to decide whether to tell him the truth or just lie. I shrugged deciding on the truth and answered, "Thunder sounds like gunshots."


End file.
